The invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to coaxial connector jacks for mounting to a circuit board.
Due to their favorable electrical characteristics, coaxial cables and connectors have grown in popularity for interconnecting electronic devices and peripheral systems. Typically, coaxial connector jacks are mounted to a circuit board of an electronic device at an input/output port of the device and extend through an exterior housing of the device for connection with a mating connector, typically in the form of a cable and plug assembly. The jacks include an inner or signal conductor coaxially disposed within an outer conductor, with a dielectric material separating the signal and outer conductors.
Conventional coaxial connector jacks tend to be one of two basic types. In the first type, the jack is threaded to mate with a compatibly threaded connector. The second is the bayonet coupling style coaxial connector jacks that include a laterally facing pin or lug on the jack that is captured within a slot on the mating connector as the mating connector is rotated. Both of these basic coaxial connector configurations require that the connector be mated to the jack by rotating the connector relative to the jack to engage the connector to the jack.
It is desirable that the connector-to-circuit board connections of the jacks be as durable as possible to withstand repeated mating and unmating of the connectors. However, these connector-to-circuit board connections are sometimes broken by the application of too much torque when a mating connector is being attached to the jack. This risk of damage to the connector jack is increased in those situations where tools are used to mate the connectors. It would therefore be desirable to provide a coaxial connector that is less susceptible to damage due to over-torquing during engagement with a mating connector.